Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 running backs to target for Week 13

We are now entering Week 13, possibly the most critical week of the fantasy football season. Depending on your league settings, the playoffs start in either Week 14 or 15, so this is one of your last chances to earn a postseason bid, or secure that coveted first-round bye. With nearly every team done with their byes, bench depth and the waiver wire take on less importance as owners should ride their starters to the finish line. But that doesn’t mean the wire should be totally disregarded yet.
There are only two teams on bye this week -- the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. That means DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry won’t be available (and also Isaiah Crowell, but if you’re still starting him you’re probably not in the playoff race). The wavier wire is somewhat thin at running back this week, but there are still some decent options for fantasy owners to pursue. Here are the top options owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! standard leagues.

Smallwood will get a chance to be the Eagles’ lead back with Ryan Mathews rehabbing a sprained MCL and Darren Sproles trying to play through a rib injury. The rookie RB has impressed in limited action this year, putting up 253 yards and a touchdown on 57 carries entering Monday night’s Week 12 game. Smallwood will be on the RB2 radar against the Houston Texans if Mathews has to miss another week.

Powell still doesn’t have much standalone fantasy value outside of PPR leagues, but with Matt Forte going in the tank again he could presumably see more touches down the stretch run. The Jets are just playing out the string at this point but have a winnable matchup in the Los Angeles Rams this week. Powell could put himself in flex territory if he gets more involved in the passing game.

It certainly looks like Dixon is supplanting Terrance West for good. The rookie played more snaps than West against the Cincinnati Bengals, turning 17 touches into 80 total yards while West put up 64 total yards on 16 touches. With West falling out of favor, Dixon should be the man to own in the fantasy playoffs. He’ll have a tougher matchup with the red-hot Miami Dolphins this week.

The Raiders have gone away from their half-hearted three-man committee and have made Latavius Murray the clear lead back, with DeAndre Washington phased out of the offense and Richard entrenched as the No. 2 back. Richard is just a strict backup and won’t see enough carries to have any fantasy value of his own, but at least his role is certain now. Murray owners can pick him up as a handcuff.

This is mostly speculation since Abdullah is still on injured reserve with a foot injury, but he could be cleared to practice in the near future, putting him on a timetable to return just in time for the fantasy playoffs. Abdullah was playing well before his injury and would give the Lions’ running game a much-needed jolt of energy. If your league has an IR roster spot, you’re better off using it on Abdullah than on Adrian Peterson, who’s still not a given to come back this year.